How these UAE ‘bankers’ cheat clients with magic pen, 0% credit card offers

Top Stories

The pen given to the victims had ink that could be erased either by volatilisation or exposure to heat.- Alamy Image
The pen given to the victims had ink that could be erased either by volatilisation or exposure to heat.- Alamy Image

Sharjah - Police register 10 cases of cheque fraud committed using pens with erasable ink.

By Afkar Abdullah

  • Follow us on
  • google-news
  • whatsapp
  • telegram

Published: Sun 8 Oct 2017, 6:32 PM

Fraudsters have got their hands on what is known as 'magic pens' to cheat bank customers, the Sharjah Police have warned. The police have registered 10 cases of cheque fraud committed using these pens - which have erasable ink - this year so far.
According to the police, the criminals pose as bank representatives and offer gullible customers credit cards with a 'zero per cent interest rate'. After that, they would collect a cheque signed with the 'magic pen' from them with the amount for the credit limit. However, instead of getting a credit card with great offers, they would find that an amount much higher than what they wrote out a cheque for was withdrawn from their account.
Brigadier Abdul Gader Al Ameri, director of the Sharjah Forensic laboratory, said investigations revealed that the pen given to the victims had ink that could be erased either by volatilisation or exposure to heat.
He advised residents to use their own pens to sign on agreements, as details entered using a "magic pen could be erased and altered without a trace".
"At the forensic laboratory, we use a certain type of radiation that helps us see the original words written with the pen and the changes made to it. We have examined 10 such cases this year so far," Brigadier Al Ameri stressed.
He said most of the victims in such cases were company owners, who were approached by criminals posing as insurance representatives, bill collectors or real estate agents.
Brigadier Al Ameri stressed on the importance of raising awareness among bank clients and business owners about the so called magic pen.

A case of forensic brilliance!

After a wealthy Arab man passed away, one of his sons presented a document that apparently showed the father passed on all his wealth to him. However, his relatives lodged a complaint with the police, claiming that the document had been forged.
When the public prosecution referred the case to the Sharjah Forensic Laboratory, it emerged that the document had been forged as his relatives suspected. It emerged that the deceased father used to sign on blank documents for certain business transactions. The son got access to one of these documents and made himself the sole heir to his father's wealth.
The forensic lab exposed the crime by proving that the signature on the submitted document was old, but the words on it were written after the father's death.
afkarali@khaleejtimes.com
 


More news from